Improvement in recorders



UNITED STArrns PATENT OFFICE.

MATHEW HOWIE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN RECORDERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 185.537, date& December19, 1876; application filed September 27, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MATHEW HowIE, ofPhiladelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania,have invented a certain new and useful Register for Cash Re ceipts ofBar-Keepers, Oashiers, and other Persons; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the artto which it pertains tomake and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, whichform part of this specifr cation, in which- Figure 1 is a transversevertical section ot' my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse verticalsection of the box and a side elevation of the mechanisn. Fig. 3 is afront elevation of my invention; Fig. 4, detail perspective.

The object of ny invention is to provide a device or apparatus forregistering the cash received by bar-keepers, cashiers, and other likeparties presiding over money desks or offioes. i

A further object of my improvements is to provide means for determiningthe amount of liquor or other article disposed of, thereby keeping anaccount of stock, the registered cash receipts showing the stock onhand, as well as that sold, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, which indi- Cate my improvements appliedto a liquon bar, A is a boX or case, to be placed in a conspicuousposition, as the front of the counter, where it will be in full View ofthe patrons of the bar, and within easy reach of the bar keeper. B B arepush-buttons, marked with figures, as 5, 10, 15, &0.,01' with the namesot' the different liquors, as wine, brandy, beer, 850., there being, ofcourse, only one number or name on each of said buttons. The stems b bpass down through the lid a of the case A, and through suitable openingsin a ledge or bracket, U, being provided with spiral springs c c, bywhich the buttons are automatically elevated after being depressed, ashereinafter more fully set 'orth.

D D are curved pawls, pivoted on the lower extremities of the stems b b,and provided with pointed pins or teeth d d, by which strips of paper EE are unwound from reels F, and

punched whenever payment for a drink or drinks is made. G is` aspring-dog secured at g to the bracket O, and having an opening, g forthe passage of a stud, d which pro'- jects from the sides of each of thepawls D. The object of the dog Gr is to cause the pawl D to be raisedon`its backward motion, so as to make the tooth d clear the paper E andavoid dragging back the latter.

When the button B is depressed on receipt of payment for a drink, thepawl D is brought down upon the paper E, the tooth d entering andpassing through the latter. Coritinuing the downward movement of thebutton the pawl D advances, swinging on its pivot b and carrying forwardthe paper which it unwinds from the reel F. At the same time the stud d'passes through the opening` g raises the (log G, and comes out in frontot' the latter, which then drops or springs downwardly. On releasing thepressure on the button B the spring c throws up the stem b. The stud d'is thus coinpelled to ride over the face or front of the dog Gr, and byso doing elevates the pawl D, so that its tooth d will clear the paperE.

G' reprcsents a shaft, supported in hangers 9 g Secured to the lid a,and provided with forwardly-projectin g arms (1 g which are met bycollars I# on the stens b whenever the buttons B are depressed, causingsaid shat't G' to rock. g* is a rearwardly-projecting arm on the shaftGr', having a spring-pawl, H, shouldered at h, by which a hammer, I, iscansed to strike a bell, K, sounding an alarm whenever a paynent fordrinks is made, and the button B duly depressed to register the same. Lis a spring to cause the return of the rockshaft G' to its normal place,and the arms g (1 to their position just below the collars b after eachdepression of any one of the buttons B.

The operation is suhstantially as follows: Suppose a party obtains andpays for a drink of wine, the charge for which is, say, twentyfivecents. If the push-buttons be marked with the names of the variousliquors sold at the bar, the bar-keeper will depress that one of thesaid buttons which is marked Wine, causing one hole to be punched in thestrip E, which belongs to said button, and an alarm to be sounded on thebell K. If the buttons be marked with the numerals, that one of' themwhich hears a number corresponding to the price of the drink will beoperated in like manner and with a similar efiect. By having the buttonsmarked with the name of the liquors the amount ot' money received foreach kind can be ascertained on examination of the registry-strips.Thereby the quantity of each liquor sold can be determined,.and bydeducting the same from the quantity first provided the amount of stockon hand can be readily computed. In this way a double check can be kepton the bar-keeper. For instance, suppose wine is twenty-five cents adrink and beer five cents. The bar-keeper, on receiving payment for adrink of wine, might be tempted to register as for a drink of beer, and,yielding to the temptation, to defraud the proprietor outof twen tycents-a procedure which might possibly be connived or winked at by thosewho usually frequent drinking-saloons. But he would therehy renderhimself liahle to detection, for the proprietor, on measuring his wine,would see that. some of it had been disposed of without a correspondingregistry of payment therefor. On the other hand, it' the registry behonestly kept, the exact amount of each liquor can be determined, asalready stated, by examination and computation, without measuring.

If desired, a separate set of buttons-numbered 5, 10, 15, &e-may beallotted to each beverage dispensed at the bar, the names of each suchbeverage being marked on its set ot' buttons, or on a single signe'ected in any suitable position close to said set, so as to show itsrelation to the same.

I have shown and described the improvements* as adapted to a bar; buttheir employment is not restricted thereto, being, with slightmodifications within the spirit of my invention, equally well adapted toeating-saloons, confectioneries, drug-stores, ticket-offices,ferry-gates, and other places where employs are entrusted with receivingcash in separate small sums, and where an accurate regisu'y and controlof said receipts are desirable.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination, with the case A, ofthe push-buttons B B, marked With names or numer-als, pivoted pawls I)D, teeth or puncles d d, and paper strips E, substantially as shown. anddescribed.

2. l combiation with the pivoted pawl D and tooth d, the dog Gr,arranged substantially as described, to elevate said 'pawl and causesaid tooth to clear the paper E on the return or upward motio of thestem b, substantially as described.

In testimoy that [claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this16th day of September, 1876.

MATHEW HOWIE.

Witnesses:

M. DANL. CoNNoLLY, GHAs. F. VAN HORN.

